Banff Community High School Solar PV

OVERVIEW

Following the completion of what was at the time Canada’s largest rooftop solar PV system on the roof of Genesis Banff Community High School completed the installation of a 108.8 kW solar PV system in 2021 through the Solar for Schools Program. This project will generate enough electricity to save the school approximately $11,523.20 in energy costs which can be spent on other educational initiatives. The total project cost was $188,369.16 with 50% of costs covered by the Solar for Schools Program. The project will reduce the school’s emissions by 65.68 tonnes of CO2e per year, the equivalent to removing 18 passenger vehicles from the road.

APPROACH

The project moved quickly once securing funds in late 2020, with the project reaching completion later in the winter of The project commenced in Summer 2020 and was completed in Spring 2021.

RESULTS

The project is expected to reduce the school’s emissions by 65.68 tonnes of CO2e per year, the equivalent of 20 passenger vehicles from the road.

“In 2008, students and teacher volunteers at Banff Community High School working alongside the Town of Banff and district staff, researched feasibility, designed and raised funds to pilot and install the first 2kW solar PV system. This was a community supported project where the array was placed in a discrete location at the school which could only be seen from the middle of the street or from the sky, as solar panels were not at the time allowed in Banff. In 2014 after the townsite had begun to introduce and celebrate the use of solar as an alternative energy source in the national park, we again fundraised and expanded our system to showcase our new 10kW addition prominently featured at the front of the school. In the years following, teachers and district staff at Canadian Rockies Public School have worked collaborating with the Alberta Government to support the implementation of programs for providing solar to many new school builds as well as to some existing structures with the Solar For Schools rebate program to both cut electricity costs and reduce emissions. Now that we have expanded to a 115kW system, we can move beyond just having students use a small model representing what is possible and imagine what it would be like to run our school on alternative energy sources, we can show the students, and the entire community, that it is a reality and allow them to see first-hand the positive impact they can have!”

Maya Capel, Teacher Sponsor, BCHS Green Team